


Shine a Light

by taitofan



Series: Lantern Bearer Wirt [2]
Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Demon/Human Relationships, Edelwood branches don't go there, M/M, Original Character Death(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 05:49:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4089292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taitofan/pseuds/taitofan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Beast gives Wirt a small reward for his continued loyalty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shine a Light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yunalesca_Sakura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yunalesca_Sakura/gifts).



“You are falling into despair, child.”

A petite redheaded girl, no more than twelve years old, looked up at him with dull green eyes.  Wirt smiled down at her with faux-sympathy, noting that the Edelwood was growing around her, twisting up her body before his very eyes.  He felt no pity for her; her little sister had already gotten consumed by the forest, and it had been because she missed her big sister.  The same big sister who left her behind on purpose.

If there was anything Wirt could not tolerate, it was older siblings who mistreated the very people they were supposed to protect.

“I…”  She coughed weakly, the branches closing in around her head.  “I thought you were supposed to help people.  They said you’re a prince…”

“You should have listened more closely.”  His smile dropped, and he turned around, not caring to see the Edelwood finish the job.  He cared not for lost souls except for the oil they gave.  Especially not ones containing tainted souls like hers.  “I am the Beast’s Prince, and I help no one but him.”

The girl didn’t call out to him, and he hadn’t expected her to.  He was quite sure that within a few hours she would be fully lost to the forest and ready for harvesting.  Then he’d come back with his axe, and—

Well, he was getting ahead of himself.

He walked through the forest, singing a familiar song.  His voice wasn’t nearly as deep as the Beast’s, but he’d been told it was perfect for luring unsuspecting souls into the forest.  After all, who would look at the young prince, dressed in his cape and red hat, and think he was tempting them to their final resting place?

Wirt felt the Beast’s presence before he saw him.  He did not stop walking, nor did he stop singing.  Soon the Beast seemed to melt from the shadows, silently gliding alongside Wirt until they reached the small clearing they were resting in.  Wirt hooked the lantern to a thick tree branch, an axe and a pack at the tree’s base.  The pack had a grinder and many glass bottles to store extra oil.  It never hurt to be prepared when a soul was ready for harvesting, and he never asked the Beast where they had come from.

With the exception of the grinder, he had an idea he probably inherited the rest, and the previous owner likely didn’t miss them at all.

“You’ve done well,” the Beast finally spoke, reaching out to cup Wirt’s face with his eldritch hands.  Wirt had long since stopped finding them odd.  In fact, he was very comfortable with how the Beast looked and felt, even if he _felt_ him far more often than he could actually see more than shadows.  It was fine—their partnership satisfied Wirt in every way.  “For such a performance, I believe you deserve a reward.”

Wirt shivered in anticipation.  This was the sort of satisfaction he liked the most.

The Beast did not disrobe him, and Wirt did not attempt it himself.  Their little games always played out differently, and Wirt was content to do whatever the Beast wished of him.  Today, the Beast ran a hand down his body, palming him through his pants.

“You do remember that doing it like this get uncomfortable when everything dries, right?”  The Beast scoffed, spinning him around so his back was to the Beast.  Quick work was made of Wirt’s pants, and the moment the button was popped, the Beast pulled out his length.  Wirt moaned as the Beast stroked him, not bothering to quiet himself.  It wasn’t as if anyone was around.  Or that he’d care even if there were.

“Tell me Wirt,” the Beast said conversationally, like he didn’t have Wirt’s cock in his hand, “do you know how long you have carried my lantern?”

It was rather hard to think when the Beast knew how to play him far better than Wirt had ever played an instrument in his life, and the odd seasons in the Unknown didn’t help.  But he’d been asked a question, and he would answer it.

“F-five years?”  If he had left with Greg, he would have been twenty-years-old.  In college probably.  Who knew what he could have been doing?

Nothing better than what he had now, he was quite sure.

“Very good.”  He was further rewarded by the Beast’s other hand slipping under his cape, lazily circling his rough fingers over one of Wirt’s clothed nipples.  “While not as long as I had my last lantern bearer, you have been far more loyal.  Much more… eager.”

“D-did you and the Woodsman ever…?”  He couldn’t finish his question—the Beast pinched his nipple, causing him to cry out at the sensation.

“Don’t think of him at the moment, my Prince. Think only of _me_.”

Wirt nodded, his words caught in his throat as the Beast’s hand moved faster.  It felt so good that he didn’t immediately notice as the thin, flexible branch began to climb up his leg under his pants.  It wasn’t until it began to wiggle its way into his undergarments that it hit him.

“B-beast,” he panted, his body too far gone already to do anything but allow the branch to go where it pleased, “is that _Edelwood_ …?”

“The Edelwood does as I command it.”  The rounded nub of the branch—it thankfully felt as polished as the Beast’s body—entered him with no fanfare.  It didn’t hurt.  It didn’t even feel terribly uncomfortable, just foreign.  But it was part of the Beast, and he welcomed it just as he welcomed the rest of the Beast.  “Now, my Prince, come for me.”

The branch rubbed his prostrate, and he cried out the Beast’s name.  It only took a few more strokes for Wirt to come, spilling onto the forest floor below.  Wirt heard the Beast’s deep laughter as the branch slithered its way out of him, retreating to wherever the Beast had summoned it from in the first place.  Then the Beast tucked him back in his pants, swiftly popping the button back in place.

“Thank you.”  He turned around in the Beast’s arms, close enough in the dull light to see the twisted Edelwood.  Wirt leaned in and placed a kiss to his chest, where the wood was solid.  “May the next five years be just as pleasurable.”

The Beast didn’t need human facial features for Wirt to hear the smirk in his voice.

“I’m sure the pleasure will be _doubled_.”

\---

Wirt approached the Edelwood tree, shining the green light of the dark lantern over it.  There was no doubting that this was the girl from earlier in the day.  He remembered back when he first arrived in the Unknown, and the good advice he’d heard.  As the older sibling, responsibility needed to be taken…  It was a pity that she hadn’t heard the same guidance.  She and her sister might still be alive.

“Don’t worry,” he said aloud, even though he knew the girl was no longer able to hear him, “you’ll join your sister soon.  She’s fueling the lantern right now, actually.”

He hung the lantern up and hefted his axe.

“Goodnight, little girl.”

The sounds of wood chopping and the Beast singing were the only things to be heard in the forest that night.


End file.
